macca
Sitting For The Newtons
Posts: 2,084
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Post by macca on Mar 23, 2006 17:21:15 GMT -5
Ben Hobart practically requires a baby-sitter. And the Pike triplets are still playing hide and seek. Although they ARE a whole yr younger, which makes an incredible difference, apparently.
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inge
Junior Sitter
Posts: 767
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Post by inge on Apr 1, 2006 12:09:25 GMT -5
Yeah the 10/11 year old difference always creeped me out. 10 - total child. 11 - mature and responsible. Huh? I always pretended the girls to be older than the ages mentioned in the books - probably also because the youngest babysitter I ever had was, 15 or something like that - I always pictured the 'older' girls to be 16 or 17 and the 'junior sitters' 14 or 15. They just seem way too mature and developed for their ages, sometimes.
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Post by aln1982 on Apr 1, 2006 16:01:52 GMT -5
Yeah the 10/11 year old difference always creeped me out. 10 - total child. 11 - mature and responsible. Huh? I always pretended the girls to be older than the ages mentioned in the books - probably also because the youngest babysitter I ever had was, 15 or something like that - I always pictured the 'older' girls to be 16 or 17 and the 'junior sitters' 14 or 15. They just seem way too mature and developed for their ages, sometimes. Glad to hear that someone else did this too. This helped me get past a lot of the stuff that I would find "wrong" with the books (Ramseys leaving the kids alone for example) if I thought of them as the ages that the book makes them. As I've said before, being able to imagine whatever you want is the great thing about reading.
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Post by sotypical42483 on Apr 5, 2006 16:29:01 GMT -5
Hey, I didn't think that Jessi proclaiming Quint's visit was "heaven" and the dance as "heaven" was so bad. I mean she's 11... going to a dance with a boy is like a dream come true at that age. Topic of the book... haven't read it in AGES, but I know I read it a few times as a kid and I don't remember hating it as much as everyone else here. I'm looking forward to reading it again (when I get to that point in the mysteries! I'm going in order and only at #3 right now!) to see what I think of it now I do agree though, that Mal/Ben was a much better relationship than Jessi/Quint
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macca
Sitting For The Newtons
Posts: 2,084
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Post by macca on Apr 5, 2006 18:45:51 GMT -5
Hey, I didn't think that Jessi proclaiming Quint's visit was "heaven" and the dance as "heaven" was so bad. I mean she's 11... going to a dance with a boy is like a dream come true at that age. I guess... it was a bit too passionate for me though. And the innuendo... ick.
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Post by aln1982 on Apr 5, 2006 18:56:24 GMT -5
I agree with Macca. And there are a lot of girls at 11 who still think boys are gross. It just depends on the individual I think.
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macca
Sitting For The Newtons
Posts: 2,084
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Post by macca on Apr 5, 2006 19:09:44 GMT -5
aln1982 - it's nice that I'm not the only one with these outdated views!!! ;D
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Apr 5, 2007 17:26:10 GMT -5
What bugs me a lot about this book, other than the mystery wasn't even plausible, is that Jessi and Quint's parents let them go around the city by themselves. I mean, Jessi is from the small towns, and Quint has lived in New York all of his life, but still, they are only 11. I certainly would not let my 11 year old kid walk around New York City alone, even if they were in a group. Their parents are crazy.
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inge
Junior Sitter
Posts: 767
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Post by inge on Apr 10, 2007 8:31:36 GMT -5
I agree. It's still shocking for me that they let a bunch of 13 year olds walk around New York city by themselves. When I was 15 I spent a few days in London with school and me and a couple of friends ended up going around London by ourselves - we were all between 14 and 16 - and I remember how pissed my mom was when she found out. How is it OK for five 13 year olds to walk around NYC??
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Post by aln1982 on Apr 10, 2007 16:18:50 GMT -5
The ages always bugged me in the books - most of the stuff was just not plausible. To keep from being bothered, though, I just imagine the girls as older. That was hard to do in this book in some ways because Jessi and Quint seemed so naive. This was one of the more far-fetched and pointless "mysteries" but I enjoyed it anyway. I might have to reread as I'm in a "New York" mood right now (but have never been there and will probably never go).
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fluffycakes
Junior Sitter
A silken-haired beauty with a laugh like pealing bells
Posts: 868
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Post by fluffycakes on Jun 13, 2007 21:55:18 GMT -5
Yeah, I bet immature Ben Hobart could never have done it. Yeah, Ben's too busy fighting about library catalog cards to walk around in snowstorms and tip a girl's chin. Anyhoo. Recently re-read this one, just to see how bad it is, and I decided that had this been a mini-plot in a Super Special, it wouldn't have been that bad. But it certainly doesn't hold its own as an entire book. No wonder this was Jessi's one and only mystery.
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Post by aln1982 on Jun 13, 2007 23:22:42 GMT -5
I was just getting ready to reread as I'm in a NYC mood ;D Not sure why, but I don't mind this one. The mystery isn't much but it just has a "feel" to it that puts me in a good mood - maybe it's just because it takes place in NYC. This one kind of reminds me of Jessi's Big Break - another one that I don't care anything about the plot but like the setting. I didn't realize that there wasn't a subplot for this one. I think what I also really liked was reading about the Walters kids. I wish they would have been used in more books. As far as mysteries, I prefer Jessi and the Dance School Phantom, though it isn't considered a "mystery" because of when it was published.
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inge
Junior Sitter
Posts: 767
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Post by inge on Jun 14, 2007 8:17:21 GMT -5
Isn't the subplot about Beccie being really clingy and scared everyone will leave her?
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starrynight
Sitting For The Kuhns
The Royal Diner of Pizza Express
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Post by starrynight on Jun 14, 2007 14:50:11 GMT -5
^ No, the Becca subplot happened in "Jessi's Big Break." I think.
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Post by aln1982 on Jun 14, 2007 16:35:45 GMT -5
^ I actually think that was the subplot in both of them. I think it is definitely in this one too because this is the book where Jessi's parents leave Becca at the Pikes (I think but you're right and it might be Big Break. I know she has an issue in that one too with being left behind) These plots are the only times I really can't stand Becca.
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